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Dr. Gankowski announces expansion of agricultural CTE to ninth grade as enrollment jumps to 37
Summary
At the curriculum meeting, Dr. Gankowski said the district will expand its agricultural career and technical education sequence to include ninth grade and adopt the “ag general” code; administrators reported enrollment in the ag program grew from 8 to 37 after recent outreach.
At tonight’s curriculum meeting, Dr. Gankowski said the district will expand its agricultural (ag) career and technical education pathway to include ninth-grade students and will adopt an “ag general” program code to better align funding and program requirements.
Dr. Gankowski said the expansion is intended to increase student access to FFA and other CTE experiences. "With that expansion to a 4 year program, as per the PDE regulation, we'll be having to add about 2 additional courses, to meet their necessary program requirements, which bring a total of 5 classes or more to the high school courses, which would be required to meet the minimum of 1,320 hours," Dr. Gankowski said.
Administrators reported a notable enrollment jump after promotion and middle-school outreach: participation in the ag program rose from 8 students to 37, a gain the district attributed to recent presentations and the decision to expose younger students through the middle-school rotation. A boardmember noted the district is not yet an approved PDE program and that current ag offerings remain electives until approval and course additions are completed.
The plan also shifts foundational ag content into the eighth-grade unified-arts rotation; administrators said this will replace the current eighth-grade STEM slot in the rotation but stressed that STEM will continue in other grades and as an elective and as a newly launched STEM club. One administrator said STEM "isn't going away" but will be offered differently while the district prioritizes building the four‑year ag sequence.
Miss Yoder was named as the administrator responsible for designing the additional high‑school courses required to meet program standards; the board did not vote on a program-adoption motion tonight. Next steps include program-development work by Miss Yoder, continued enrollment monitoring, and pursuit of any required approvals to convert electives into an approved CTE sequence.
Clarifying details: the district reported 3 current high-school ag courses and will add roughly 2 more to meet PDE hours; enrollment rose from 8 to 37; the 1,320‑hour figure was cited by Dr. Gankowski as the program minimum.
